A major reconstruction project is underway on I-270 on the southwest side of Franklin County between US 62 and Roberts Road. ODOT will make improvements down to the sub-surface on every travel lane in both directions and construct wider shoulders on 11 bridges. The three-year project is expected to be complete by late 2014.

ODOT will maintain at least two lanes of traffic on 270 in both directions during construction. Entrance and exit ramps along the seven mile construction zone will also be accessible.

To allow crews to work on several lanes at a time, ODOT will shift traffic over to one side. There will be crossovers at the following locations to allow drivers to enter and exit 270: US 62, south of Georgesville Road, north of Georgesville Road, south of Broad Street and south of Roberts Road.

A crossover means that one direction of traffic will cross over, through the permanent median, to the other side of the road so that both directions of traffic are on the same side, which allows crews to work safely and more efficiently on that section of 270.

Between Broad Street and Roberts Road, ODOT will maintain three lanes in each direction. For northbound travellers, one of those lanes will be a different traffic pattern that we call a contra flow lane. A contra flow lane means that one lane of northbound traffic will be on the southbound side of the road with a portable barrier wall separating northbound and southbound traffic.

The contra flow lane is an express lane. Drivers enter just north of Georgesville Road and cannot exit until just north of I-70. Drivers who need to access Broad Street (US 40) or I-70 should stay in the right lanes.

ODOT also recently made improvements to the ramp from I-70 west to I-270 north. Ramp traffic no longer has to merge with the traffic on I-270 north that is coming from I-70 east. Instead, traffic on the ramp from I-70 west to I-270 north will exit into its own lane, improving the traffic flow coming from downtown.